Maryland jury finds John C. Gaumer guilty of first-degree murder and

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 11, 2007 by Cynthia Dipasquale

John C. Gaumer was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and first-degree rape in the death of a woman he met on MySpace.com, and could be sentenced to death.

Gaumer, 23, killed Josie P. Brown early on December 30, 2005. He mutilated her body and left her on the side of an I-95 exit ramp near Arbutus.

The jury deliberated for four-and-half hours before issuing the verdict. The rape conviction acts as an aggravating offense with the first-degree murder conviction, and makes Gaumer eligible for the maximum penalty.

Gaumer and his parents were in tears as the jury read its verdict. His father called out, "John, I love you. I love you, son," as Gaumer was led away by sheriff's deputies.

One of his attorneys, Assistant Public Defender Gayle L. Robinson, would only say she was "disappointed."

The victim's family rushed out of the courtroom with prosecutors following the verdict.

Towards the end of their first date, Gaumer and Brown got into an argument because Brown apparently changed her mind about going home with him as they were driving on the interstate. Gaumer became enraged, threw her out of his car and left only to return several minutes later to kill her. He confessed to police about six weeks later.

Although medical examiners testified there was no physical evidence Gaumer had sexually assaulted Brown with a stick, as he confessed, Assistant Baltimore County State's Attorney S. Ann Brobst encouraged jurors to convict him of rape since he also admitted to penetrating her slightly when attempting to have sex.

Robinson responded that "science don't lie."

"We heard testimony from two doctors that that scene, that incident with a stick could not have happened," she said in her closing statements.

Gaumer is being defended by Robinson and Donald E. Zaremba, deputy public defender for Baltimore County. Prosecutors from the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office are Brobst and Susan H. Hazlett.

A sentencing hearing will start Monday.